'Game of Thrones' scoop: Season 3 character list revealed

EW.com has a list of new characters coming to HBO’s Game of Thrones in season three. Fans have been wondering which names from George R.R. Martin’s third Song of Ice and Fire novel A Storm of Swords will be introduced next year, especially since the lengthy book is being divided into two seasons.

We recently spoke to showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss about some of the creative changes this year and next season’s plans. “[Jojen and Meera Reed] haven’t been written out,” Benioff says. “It’s important to point out that that we have the largest cast on television right now. We introduced dozens of new characters in season two. If you hurl 300 characters at an audience, the story collapses under the weight of too many faces, too many names, and too many subplots. We need to be just as mindful of the audience members who have never read the books as we are of the readers; the series will fail if we only appeal to those who already know the characters. So we try to be parsimonious about how many new roles we introduce to the story and when we introduce them.”

That said, get excited. Here’s who will appear in season three:

— Mance Rayder: We’ve heard about him all season. A former member of the Night’s Watch who became the “King Beyond the Wall,” the leader of the Wildlings.